Bangkok Feb 27th

Hello from Bangkok:

Got in from an uneventful EVA air flight 13 hours from SF to Taipai with a row to myself and a solid six hours of sleep thanks to Ambien, a 2 plus hour layover in Taipai and then 3 more hours to Bangkok, 45 mins through customs and baggage and to the smiling faces of Bob and Vivian waiting for me in the airport. I negotiate a taxi for 150 Baht (31 Baht to the dollar) for a 40 mins trip to Lamphu House on Soi Rambutri ...a nice A/C place, clean with balcony and ready for our arrival... $25/night for the three of us.

We rest up a bit and then start to explore the old "hood" we know to see what has changed. Eventually we end of at Pier 13 along the Chao Priya River, the main water artery of Bangkok. This river is wide, deep and long and is truly a river of commerce more than anything else, though there are water lilies floating down its rather murky waters. Center water lane is for large 4 and 5 barge long flotillas passing every five or more minutes. Outside water lanes are for water taxis, tour and dinner boats. Massive old and new bridges span the river and this theme is continued in the architecture of modern skyscrapers along the banks juxtaposed with old rickety buildings and private mansions. A cacophony of economic boom and bust times. These are boom times for Thailand and their beloved King and Queen are celebrating their 60th year of ascension to power this year.

We board a water tax for pier 15 where we find a riverside restaurant to enjoy a mid day super spicy seafood with coconut soup, a very spicy noodle and green salad, rice and several rounds of ice cold beer. A fitting way to say hello once again to Bangkok and a happy birthday dinner for me. We are sweating as much from the gastronomic heat as from the humidity and I finally feel like I have arrived.

We take off exploring this neighborhood and find a beautiful wat (Wat Thewarat Kunchorn Worawiharn) and pay to enter and see a massive gold Buddha with fantastic wall paintings all about of demons being suppressed by the Buddha. See pix. Next we "wander" the klongs (canals) and open night market complete with rats and other exotic comestibles and finally return by water taxi to our neighborhood where we wander some more finally ending up in the impotent Sodom and Gomorrah wanna be district of Kaosan Rd. I remember the parts I don't miss of being in my early 20's as this buzz of economic and lustful anticipation is played out in this most inch for inch bang for the buck tourist black hole of a location. Don't get me wrong, this is not the sex trade area... just a place for westerners to "find" one another under the pretense of shopping every known commodity under the moon. Want a fake passport in the country of your choice? Plunk down 100 Baht and wait 30 minutes after your picture is taken... that's it! Though this is now illegal, it still goes on in the side shadows of the street ...amid the neon signs, the ethnic food from all points of the compass and the colorful products of every description for sale at pennies on the dollar. Speaking of which... the Baht is about 31 to the dollar. Back to the hotel and my first full night of sleep in three days!
Kaosan Rd is action packed and while one's senses are being assaulted by everything around you, I was aware of how blase one can be, myself included, of the occasional maimed beggars who literally are lying face down and barely clothed in the streets. It is just too much... and juxtaposed with this foreign meat market/carnival atmosphere... all the more Fellini-esque. It is more than the senses can properly process... for now. Perhaps a good night of sleep will help the perspective on that one.

In the morning we find an old favorite breakfast place and enjoy the more empty streets of the area as resemblant of what it once was and will never be again. Our only agenda today is to connect with Willie Yaryan, a retired UCSC professor and journalist who "packed it all up" for a life in Bangkok pursuing things philosophic and Buddhist (from what I can gather). I have not met Willie before but feel I know something about him because of his wonderful blog site where he has kept a fascinating journal and photo gallery for the past two plus years. Do a google search for Willie Yaryan if you'd like to peek into a thoughtful and reflective life... very, very worthwhile. The rain has just begun to pour down and I am mostly up to date so I will attempt to upload my first go-around of posting photos and hope you are the successful recipients. Josie, if you see this, would you please let Jackie and Arno know the blog site. They sent me a lovely newspaper article just as I was departing the country and I didn't have the time to express my appreciation to them. See you all down the road, Mark